Sicilian Defense: Dragon Variation
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 g6
What Is The Dragon Variation?
5...g6 commits Black to the fianchetto, and the bishop that lands on g7 attacks as well as it defends: it stares down the long diagonal at d4 and c3, so every White knight and pawn on that line becomes a target. Together with the half open c file from 3...cxd4, this gives Black a ready made attacking scheme: Rc8, pressure on c3, and the exchange sacrifice Rxc3 that strips White's king cover.
White answers with the Yugoslav Attack: Be3, Qd2, long castling, then h4-h5 and Bh6 to trade the dragon bishop and blast open the h file. Both sides attack on opposite wings, so games are decided by tempo, not material. Learn the move orders precisely, because one slow move loses the race.
How Do You Play Against The Sicilian Defense: Dragon Variation?
37% play 6.Be3, and it is the move that makes everything else possible. The Dragon bishop on g7 will stare down the long diagonal at your queenside for the rest of the game, so the standard answer is to castle the other way and race: Qd2, Bh6 to trade that bishop off, then h4 and h5.
The Yugoslav Attack works because both sides are attacking, and whoever arrives one move earlier wins outright. That makes accuracy matter more here than almost anywhere else in the Sicilian, because a single slow move loses the race rather than the position. If you would rather not run it, quieter setups with Be2 keep the game normal. Both sides land on 48% across 817 games.
What Do Players Choose At The Decision Point?
| Move | Share | Games | |
|---|---|---|---|
| a6 | 61% | 2,446 | |
| g6 | 24% | 951 | |
| Nc6 | 10% | 387 | |
| e6 | 3% | 108 |
How Does Play Continue From Here?
| Move | Share | Games | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Be3 | 37% | 357 | |
| Bg5 | 12% | 119 | |
| Bc4 | 12% | 118 | |
| Be2 | 9% | 88 |
The Named Lines Of The Dragon Variation
| Line | Moves |
|---|---|
| Accelerated Dragon | 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 g6 |
| Fianchetto Variation | 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 g6 6.g3 |
| Levenfish Variation | 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 g6 6.f4 |
| Classical Variation | 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 g6 6.Be3 Bg7 7.Be2 Nc6 8.Nb3 |
| Levenfish Variation, Main Line | 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 g6 6.f4 Nbd7 |
| Yugoslav Attack, Early Deviations | 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 g6 6.Be3 Bg7 7.f3 |
| Yugoslav Attack, Hungarian Dragon | 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 g6 6.Be3 Nc6 7.f3 h5 |
| Yugoslav Attack, Belezky Line | 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 g6 6.Be3 Bg7 7.f3 Nc6 |
| Yugoslav Attack | 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 g6 6.Be3 Bg7 7.f3 O-O 8.Qd2 Nc6 9.Bc4 Bd7 10.h4 Qa5 11.O-O-O Rfc8 12.Bb3 |
| Modern Bc4 Variation | 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 g6 5.Nc3 Bg7 6.Be3 Nf6 7.Bc4 d6 |
| Classical Variation, Amsterdam Variation | 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 d6 6.Be2 g6 7.Be3 Bg7 8.Qd2 |
| Yugoslav Attack, Panov Variation | 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 g6 6.Be3 Bg7 7.f3 O-O 8.Qd2 Nc6 9.g4 |
| Yugoslav Attack, Main Line | 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 g6 6.Be3 Bg7 7.f3 O-O 8.Qd2 Nc6 9.Bc4 Bd7 10.Bb3 |
| Classical Variation, Battery Variation | 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 g6 6.Be2 Bg7 7.O-O O-O 8.Be3 Nc6 9.Qd2 |
| Classical Variation, Normal Line | 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 g6 6.Be2 Bg7 7.O-O O-O 8.Be3 Nc6 9.Nb3 |
| Yugoslav Attack, Modern Line | 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 g6 6.Be3 Bg7 7.f3 Nc6 8.Qd2 O-O 9.O-O-O |
| Classical Variation, Grigoriev Variation | 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 d6 6.Be2 g6 7.Be3 Bg7 8.Qd2 O-O 9.O-O-O |
| Yugoslav Attack, Byrne Variation | 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 g6 6.Be3 Bg7 7.f3 O-O 8.Qd2 Nc6 9.Bc4 a5 |
| Classical Variation, Alekhine Line | 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 g6 5.Nc3 Bg7 6.Be3 Nf6 7.Be2 O-O 8.O-O d6 9.Nb3 a5 |
| Yugoslav Attack, Sosonko Variation | 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 g6 6.Be3 Bg7 7.f3 Nc6 8.Qd2 O-O 9.Bc4 Nd7 |
| Classical Variation, Zollner Gambit | 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 g6 5.Be3 Bg7 6.Be2 Nf6 7.Nc3 O-O 8.O-O d6 9.f4 Qb6 10.e5 |
| Classical Variation, Maróczy Line | 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 g6 6.Be2 Bg7 7.O-O O-O 8.Be3 Nc6 9.Nb3 Be6 10.f4 Na5 |
| Classical Variation, Tartakower Line | 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 g6 6.Be2 Bg7 7.O-O O-O 8.Be3 Nc6 9.Nb3 Be6 10.f4 Qc8 |
| Yugoslav Attack, Czerniak Variation | 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 g6 6.Be3 Bg7 7.f3 Nc6 8.Qd2 O-O 9.Bc4 Nxd4 10.Bxd4 Be6 11.Bb3 Qa5 |
| Yugoslav Attack, Chinese Dragon | 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 g6 6.Be3 Bg7 7.f3 O-O 8.Qd2 Nc6 9.Bc4 Bd7 10.O-O-O Rb8 |
| Yugoslav Attack, Old Line | 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 g6 6.Be3 Bg7 7.f3 O-O 8.Qd2 Nc6 9.Bc4 Bd7 10.O-O-O Rc8 |
| Classical Variation, Spielmann Variation | 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 g6 5.Nc3 Bg7 6.Be3 Nf6 7.Be2 O-O 8.Nb3 d6 9.O-O Be6 10.f4 Na5 11.f5 Bc4 12.Bd3 |
| Yugoslav Attack, Topalov Variation | 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 g6 6.Be3 Bg7 7.f3 O-O 8.Qd2 Nc6 9.Bc4 Bd7 10.O-O-O Rc8 11.Bb3 Nxd4 12.Bxd4 |